John Doe

== English == === Etymology === Books that documented and taught the legal profession in England were using the names John Smith, John Doe, Richard Roe, and others as generic placeholder names (for roles, such as plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, etc) by the mid-seventeenth century (perhaps earlier). Compare also Tommy Atkins. Though the rationale behind the choices of Doe and Roe is unknown, there are many suggested folk etymologies. Other fictitious names for a person involved in litigation in medieval English law were "John Noakes" (or "Nokes") and "John-a-Stiles" (or "John Stiles"). The Oxford English Dictionary states that John Doe is "the name given to the fictitious lessee of the plaintiff, in the (now obsolete in the UK) mixed action of ejectment, the fictitious defendant being called Richard Roe". (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.) === Pronunciation === === Proper noun === John Doe (chiefly US) A fictitious name used chiefly in legal documents for an unknown or anonymous, usually male, person. Synonyms: John Smith, Richard Roe Coordinate terms: Jane Doe (an unknown female), Jane Roe (an unknown female); Joe Bloggs (chiefly UK and Commonwealth), John Citizen; Juan Doe (an unknown Latino), Juanita Doe (an unknown Latina) ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== === Noun === John Doe (plural John Does) (US) Any unknown or anonymous, usually male, person. ==== Translations ==== === See also === so-and-so, what's-his-name, you-know-who